


Failure is for Champions

by Chapeau_42



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: But that's not news, Gen, Persistence, Putting on a Brave Face Anyway, Slowly Losing Over Time, but hear me out, friends who don't leave each other behind, he's the worst i love him so much, learning, look i know theseus is a bit of a trash goblin, repeatedly dying, so here's an optimistic interpretation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27196000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chapeau_42/pseuds/Chapeau_42
Summary: The heroes of Elysium were warned in advance.There was a fiendish demon trying to escape the Underworld, and by order of Lord Hades himself, they were to stop it.Theseus learns a few things fighting Zagreus. The Champion and the Bull are there for each other.
Relationships: Asterius | The Minotaur & Theseus (Hades Video Game), Asterius | The Minotaur & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Theseus & Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 222





	Failure is for Champions

The heroes of Elysium were warned in advance.

There was a fiendish demon trying to escape the Underworld, and by order of Lord Hades himself, they were to stop it.

It was for this reason that Theseus waited in the Champions’ arena. Together with his companion, the Champion of Elysium was the region’s final line of defense. If they failed, the exit would be left wide open. Unguarded.

There was no need to worry. Theseus almost wanted the demon to carve its path through his Underworld home – he itched for a fight, and his bouts with the Exalted Heroes just weren’t the same here as in the mortal realm. He had even herded many of Elysium’s Shades into the stadium to watch the spectacle that was bound to unfold. A heroic Champion battling a legendary demon? That would be one for the ages.

The two heroes were sitting idly at the base of one of the arena’s pillars when Asterius raised his head, smelling the air.

“King. Someone approaches.”

With a nod, the pair rose from the floor and stationed themselves in the middle of the room, facing the entrance. It would be no good to make a poor first impression, even against a demon.

The young man who strode into the arena to meet them looked at once nervous and terribly amused.

No, not a man. His skin had an unnatural pallor to it, even considering where they were, and his eyes were not only mismatched, but deeply wrong. And were his feet on fire?

They had been warned.

“Hold, demon!” declared Theseus. “Remain where you are.”

The man stopped.

The demon, corrected Theseus. He narrowed his eyes. It was him, alright.

The demon met the Champion’s glare with a quizzical stare. “Er, hello. This is…” He glanced around the arena. “…quite the setup. I don’t suppose you might let me use that door over there?”

“So you’re the monster we were warned about,” spat Theseus. He struck the ground once with his spear. “Know that you will not be getting past the Champion of Elysium and his most trusted ally.”

“So that’s a no for the door?”

The demon was already revealing his annoying nature. “That’s a no,” confirmed Theseus.

The demon sighed. “Pity. Well, it looks like we’ll be getting to know each other, then. My name is Zagreus. Please, introduce yourselves, I’d like to know the names of the people about to kill me.”

Just what mind games was this fiend trying to play? “You are not concerned by your own death, monster?”

The demon shrugged. “Not terribly, no.”

“He is Theseus,” stated the Bull, “and I am Asterius.” He must have been getting impatient. “I am not proud to strike down an unarmed opponent, but our duty is clear. Ready yourself.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say I’m unarmed.” The demon grinned as a small, round shield appeared in his hand. “But you’re free to have a go regardless.”

The three of them assumed their battle stances. The crowd cheered.

The fight did not last long at all.

Theseus sighed as he dropped his weapons. At least the crowd didn’t sound disappointed. He strode over to Asterius, who was still standing over the spot where the demon had fallen.

“A shame,” said Theseus. “He seemed an interesting fellow.”

The Bull considered. “His attacks were… unusual. I look forward to facing him again.”

“Again?” asked Theseus. “How do you mean? He’s dead, Asterius. We killed him.”

“I don’t believe our duty is yet complete, King.”

It wasn’t too long before Asterius was proven right. The demon had died, and yet had somehow returned to face them again, looking for all the world like he had never left. He wasn’t a shade, that much was clear, and demon was a notoriously ill-defined term in these parts. So what exactly was he?

“Halt, fiend. What are you doing here?”

The demon chuckled, but the sound devolved into a fit of coughs. It was difficult to tell with his naturally cursed skin, but he did not look healthy. “I told you. I need to use that door.”

Theseus was not fazed. “You blackguard. Why are you here? You died!”

“Sorry, but I don’t seem to be very good at that. Pardon my incompetence.”

Theseus glared. “Not good at dying? You don’t seem terribly lively now.”

“Yeah, well,” retorted the demon, “if you don’t like that, you can take it up with the butterflies.” He gripped his shield. “I’m practically dead on my feet, here, so how about we get this over with?”

“Very well, hellspawn.” Theseus raised his spear as Asterius pawed the ground beside him. “To battle!”

The fight was even faster this time. It barely took two throws of Theseus’s spear before the demon was disintegrating before his eyes once again. Theseus almost felt sorry for his foe.

Maybe he was a person, after all. He certainly bled like one.

When he returned, the demon was barely able to stand.

“Gentlemen,” he greeted. “I’m ready for you this time.”

“Your lies will not protect you, hellspawn,” replied Theseus. “We will show you no mercy!”

Theseus threw his spear and struck a killing blow.

The demon let out a yell, and failed to die.

Perhaps he had been truthful in his description of his capacity for death, after all.

The demon stood taller than before, and moved with a strength he did not previously have. Revitalized, he grinned. “Now that’s more like it!” He withdrew a bow and began his assault.

The fight that followed was their longest yet, but the demon was vulnerable without his shield. After the demon fell, Theseus’s back ached in a few places where the demon’s arrows had managed to find their mark.

“I don’t suppose we’re rid of him yet, Asterius?” sighed Theseus.

“No, King,” replied Asterius, terse as ever. “Though he seems a worthy opponent. I find myself intrigued by his style of movement.”

“You wish to duel him?”

“Not if that would upset you.”

Theseus considered. “Very well. Should you encounter the demon on his way here, you may fight. But you must concede defeat before your own death. We are to face him here together.”

“A fair proposition.” Asterius bowed. “Thank you, King.”

The arena, although still full of Shades, was a lonely place for Theseus. Asterius’s presence made the wait bearable, but now that the Bull was elsewhere, Theseus had little to do. He whiled away the hours staring at the carved ceiling, studying the patterns in the art. When he tired of that, he would practice his battle forms, hefting his shield and spinning his spear, much to the delight of the crowd. But after that, there was nothing to do but wait.

Asterius was the first to return, just as promised.

“Hail, Asterius!” called Theseus, running to greet his friend. “Your return is most—” Something caught his eye. He gasped. “You’re wounded!”

“The short one is a worthy challenger,” stated Asterius. “I do not doubt he will arrive here to face us. I will fight him by your side.”

“What do you mean, Asterius? You’re—”

The demon strode into the arena.

“Theseus!” he proclaimed. “It’s been a while.”

“How dare you, blackguard!” snarled Theseus. “You would wound the Bull?”

“Well, duels tend to end that way, don’t they? For the loser, at least.”

“Don’t talk back to me, demon!”

“It is as he says, King,” said Asterius. “He defeated me fairly. And I am here to face him by your side.”

“Asterius!” protested Theseus.

The demon nodded. “He is one tough customer; I’ll give him that. Killed me at least a dozen times before I really got the hang of things.” He readied his weapon – a spear, not unlike the one Theseus carried himself. “Shall we?”

Asterius was nearly dead when the demon finally fell.

“I told you, King,” said Asterius. “He is a worthy opponent.”

“Will you duel him again?” asked Theseus.

“Yes.”

“But he wounded you!”

“And, should I fall, you have the skill to defeat him alone,” said Asterius, plainly. “I do not doubt this.”

And so Theseus was left once more to stare at the ceiling and wait.

And once again, Asterius returned to the arena already wounded. He would not field a discussion of his situation.

The demon practically glowed with pride as he strode into the Champions’ arena. He looked nigh unscathed by his trials in Elysium.

It seemed he knew something Theseus did not. That made Theseus nervous.

“Halt, fiend!” called Theseus. “You are no match for Asterius and myself!” The weapon in the demon’s hands caught his eye. “What are you holding?”

“Oh, this?” asked the demon, already smug. “This here is a little something called the Adamant Rail. Want a taste before I leave?”

Theseus narrowed his eyes. The demon was that confident, was he? “You expect to pass through us? You will go no further. Defend yourself!”

Theseus was immediately struck in the face by a large, explosive rocket.

The demon seemed to have developed a habit of focusing his attacks on Asterius before paying Theseus any mind at all. It grated on Theseus’s patience, but more than that…

Before he knew it, Theseus’s worst fears were realized.

Asterius fell.

Before Theseus managed to tear his eyes from his friend’s disintegrating form, he found himself besieged by all manner of projectiles from the demon’s weapon. He reeled.

So it was like that, was it?

Theseus roared, and turned his gaze skyward. He found himself eyeing the ceiling instead. If he squinted, he could pretend that the carved details there were images of clouds.

It would have to do.

“Lord Zeus, I call upon your aid!”

The demon stopped in his tracks, a look of shock and horror on his face, as lightning descended upon him.

He did not last long.

As the cheers of the crowd echoed around him, celebrating his victory, Theseus looked back to the place where Asterius had lost his fight. He knelt there, resting his hand on the stone of the floor where his friend had stood.

Asterius was unharmed when he rejoined Theseus in the Champions’ arena.

“Worry not, Asterius,” said Theseus, with more confidence than he felt. “You fought valiantly! I’m sure you’ll get him next time.”

Asterius did not, in fact, get him next time.

Or the time after that. Or the time after that, either.

The next time the demon entered the arena, there was a newfound confidence in his step.

“Hey, there!” he called. “Ready to have another go?”

“Foul demon!” growled Theseus. “You could return here a thousand times, and every time, you would find us ready to bar your path. Our presence here shall never be a question, unlike yours. Are you really still foolish enough to think you have a chance at victory?”

Theseus’s taunts had become more elaborate since Asterius’s first defeat. Perhaps the Bull was ready to admit defeat, but Theseus didn’t mind. Theseus had enough strength of will for the both of them. A part of him knew he sounded foolish, but what sort of friend would he be if he allowed himself to falter?

The demon was unfazed. “I should warn you,” he said, readying his spear, “I’ve got a little surprise for you.”

“And you think this will save you? What folly!” Theseus laughed theatrically. “No matter. Ready yourself!”

Once again, the demon focused his attacks on Asterius, and though he sustained quite a bit of damage, it was not long before he emerged victorious.

Theseus was distraught to witness yet another defeat of his friend, but it had ceased to surprise him.

With Asterius out of the way, the demon began attacking Theseus. Before long, Theseus found himself calling on Lord Ares for aid. As usual, the demon struggled to avoid the assault of divine wrath.

Quickly, desperately, the demon raised his hand to the heavens, calling forth what looked to be a dozen or so glowing, green arrows, fanning out from him in all directions.

“Ha!” taunted Theseus. “You think one of those pitiful arrows will strike me? You should have aimed, not just spread them out!”

The demon returned his gaze to the arena. His eyes glowed with a smug glint as every arrow swivelled in its path.

Each and every one struck Theseus clean in the face.

Theseus staggered, clutching his wounds with one hand. Was this it? Was he, King Theseus, Champion of Elysium, going to fail here and now in his duties to his lord and to his partner? He looked up through the gaps between his fingers and saw the demon standing poised, aiming his spear for one final, deadly throw.

And therein lay his mistake. A vortex of red emerged from the floor beneath the demon’s stationary feet. Too late, the demon shifted his attention from his attack to the terrain. As he moved to run, he was struck down mercilessly by the rift underfoot.

Theseus planted his own spear in the ground and leaned on it heavily as he sagged to the ground. His knees protested as they struck the stone beneath him, but he paid the pain no mind as his thoughts raced on ahead.

They may still be winning the individual battles, if only barely, but one truth had long since become clear.

This ongoing campaign was one the heroes of Elysium were destined to lose.

Asterius, upon his return, saw clear through the arrogant grin Theseus wore to greet him.

“King,” said Asterius, “do not lie to yourself. It is unbecoming.”

“Lie about what, Asterius?”

“About the eventual outcome of our battles with the short one.”

“I understand full well where this is going, Asterius,” replied Theseus, soberly. “Our defensive efforts will not survive indefinitely.”

“You are just as skilled a warrior as you have always been, King,” said Asterius. “You have nothing to prove. There is no shame in being outmatched.”

“Are you saying we should give up?” asked Theseus, cautiously. “Just let him past, duty be damned? That’s not like you.”

“I simply mean that I have just as much faith in you and your ability now as I always have. The short one’s ability to learn does not change this.”

“I…” began Theseus. “I appreciate that, Asterius. I could say the same to you.” He took a deep breath. “I wonder what Lord Hades will do when I fail.”

The Bull snorted. “When we fail, we fail together.”

Theseus’s grin crept back onto his face. “All the more reason to crush the demon next time, my friend.”

When the demon returned, shield in hand, the heroes of Elysium were there to face him.

“Hold, you monster!” commanded Theseus. “You seek to besmirch fair Elysium with your presence once again?”

“What I seek,” began the demon, “is to use that door over there.” He shook his head. “You do remember that, right? I will happily stop my besmirching if you would just let me through.”

“I will hear no more from you,” declared Theseus. “Should you have something to discuss, perhaps you might learn the answers you seek from my blessed spear. It is quite eager to meet you, after all!”

As they fought, Theseus thought back to the demon’s first pitiful attempts to fight for passage. He had been all to easy to skewer, even from halfway across the arena. But now? He moved differently. Theseus couldn’t deny it: the demon was learning, and his combat skill was admirable, as was his fighting spirit.

It almost made his own defeat bearable.

Almost.

As Theseus emerged from the Pool of Styx, he found Asterius waiting patiently for his arrival.

They stood together in silence for a time, breathing in the weight of the moment. The thought of what they had to do next was nerve-wracking. If they were about to be punished, they should appreciate one another’s presence while they still could.

Eventually, the moment had to end. “I fear it is time, Asterius,” said Theseus. “When our punishment is decided, I will do what I can to see you spared.”

“You will do no such thing.” Asterius stated it as a simple fact. It was not an argument.

“Asterius—”

“We fail together, King.” He looked pointedly at Theseus. “You know this.”

Theseus sighed, and met his partner’s unwavering stare. “I suppose I do.”

They fell into step as they approached Lord Hades’s throne.

The lord of the House spoke first.

“He’s escaped Elysium, has he?”

“I’m afraid so, Lord Hades,” admitted Theseus. “We did all we could to stop him, but it wasn’t enough.”

“Very well. Return to your post.”

“Asterius and I will accept whatever punishment you see fit for our failure,” continued Theseus.

“Good. Now return to your post as I asked.”

Theseus froze – that didn’t make sense. “…Our post, Lord Hades?”

“Your duty is not complete. You will continue to guard the exit of Elysium, as you were tasked to do.”

“But we failed, Lord Hades!” protested Theseus. “The demon has learned to fight us. If he somehow returns to face us, even after this victory of his, we are bound to lose once more, eventually.”

“I will not repeat myself again.”

And so it was that Theseus and Asterius found themselves waiting once again in the Champions’ arena.

“I’m confused, Asterius,” said Theseus. “Did our failure mean nothing?”

“Perhaps our failure was expected,” offered Asterius. “And perhaps it was not final.”

“Not final?”

Asterius did not elaborate.

Sure enough, the demon did eventually return, bearing his trusty shield.

“Ah, so you return to curse us with your presence once more, hellspawn?” greeted Theseus. “I see you have not yet had enough of our fair Elysium! Are you prepared to taste defeat once again?”

The demon took a deep breath, and then grinned. “What do you heroes think? Is that why I’m here?”

Come to think of it, the question was not simply one of why he was here, but also how. If the demon was here, at the Champions’ arena, then surely he had died once again.

He had defeated the toughest challengers Elysium had to offer – no easy feat, even if Theseus in his boasting claimed they were stronger than they actually were – and he had still died. Something past that forsaken door behind them was even tougher.

The demon saw everything that was stacked against him, and he kept coming back, with mirth on his tongue and a smile on his face. Through tenacity alone, he was at least as much of a warrior as Theseus could ever be. And warriors deserved respect.

The demon had a name. Perhaps it was worth remembering, after all.

“I’m afraid that’s still a no for the door,” said Theseus, grinning right back at his opponent. He readied his spear as Asterius assumed his stance beside him.

“Pity,” said Zagreus, smile unwavering. “Just when I thought we were beginning to understand each other.”

The crowd cheered as the fight began once more.


End file.
